Live data from Hacker News

YouTube suspends Rand Paul for seven days

mercurynews.com

251–260 of 803 posts

Re: YouTube suspends Rand Paul for seven days

#252

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree with you in that I believe they work and, as a matter of personal choice, I followed the precautionary principle and wore a mask until I was vaccinated. But I don't agree that "the precautionary principle" is sufficient justification for a government mandate. Clear evidence should be required to impose the mandate. And my previous post was not agreeing with you; it implied that masks may work or may make thin…

> But I don't agree that "the precautionary principle" is sufficient justification for a government mandate. It is in many other realms. Why raise the bar for this? This whole thing feels like whatever the equivalent is of "virtue signalling". Why have some groups decided to be so stubborn about this particular thing? It smacks of some identity thing.

I can't answer your very leading question, but there are PLENTY of people who wear masks, are vaccinated, and are scared of mandates, and are consistent about "raising the bar" across the board (For things besides COVID). They just don't get as much media coverage, because that position doesn't fit into a digestible narrative in today's zeitgeist.

Re: YouTube suspends Rand Paul for seven days

#253
I wonder how many people agree with these statements and which ones:

- The Delta variant is more virulent but less lethal than the previous variants

- There will be additional variants (lambda is already here)

- Certain masks are reasonably effective (N95, KN95, multiple layers)

- Certain masks are much less effective (garter)

- Masks are sometimes worn incorrectly or intentionally ineffectively

- Many children under 12 don't wear masks

- Mask mandates are sometimes compliance indicators (wear masks onto plane, take off mask to eat and drink, people sitting inside airline terminals for hours on end maskless eating and drinking and not eating and not drinking)

- Allowing maskless outdoor dining results in transmission and was only done to prevent mass outcry from small businesses. Many of these so called outdoor seating areas are de facto indoors. There have been transmissions between vaccinated people in these outdoor venues. Some had symptoms.

- YouTube and the tech platforms have become the dominant venues of public discourse. The tech platforms have significant power to control discourse. This power spans countries.

Re: YouTube suspends Rand Paul for seven days

#254
post #208

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is unquestionably misinformation, and Rand Paul needs to have a permanent muzzle installed until covid is extinct. Masks DO WORK. Yes, N95s work better than cloth masks, usually, but cloth masks work very well for reducing the likelihood that a covid-positive person will transmit the virus. This isn't controversial. Rand Paul needs to stop spreading lies on purpose, and if he won't, I fully support YouTube telli…

You are actively spreading disinformation. SARS-2 ("covid") will never be extinct. It is completely infeasible to eradicate a highly infectious zoonotic respiratory virus w/ abundant animal reservoirs. > but cloth masks work very well for reducing the likelihood that a covid-positive person will transmit the virus You cannot possibly honestly make this statement in good faith, considering that there has only ever bee…

I know precisely what I am talking about, everything I said echoes the best public health guidance we have thus far, and I did not "callously disregard" anything. I have carefully considered the issue of whether YouTube should have the right to muzzle Rand Paul's idiocy, weighed the pros and cons, and I have decided that they should.

I'll thank you to keep your sloppy, inaccurate, careless personal attacks to yourself.

Re: YouTube suspends Rand Paul for seven days

#255
post #208

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is unquestionably misinformation, and Rand Paul needs to have a permanent muzzle installed until covid is extinct. Masks DO WORK. Yes, N95s work better than cloth masks, usually, but cloth masks work very well for reducing the likelihood that a covid-positive person will transmit the virus. This isn't controversial. Rand Paul needs to stop spreading lies on purpose, and if he won't, I fully support YouTube telli…

You are actively spreading disinformation. SARS-2 ("covid") will never be extinct. It is completely infeasible to eradicate a highly infectious zoonotic respiratory virus w/ abundant animal reservoirs. > but cloth masks work very well for reducing the likelihood that a covid-positive person will transmit the virus You cannot possibly honestly make this statement in good faith, considering that there has only ever bee…

Your science and citations and reason don't matter on the internet.

Rand Paul is a medical doctor and the person you're replying to is a musician.

Yet the musician has watched the mainstream news media and therefore determines that their opinion is unquestionable.

Actual scientific debate (which is a fundamental process of the scientific method)..... is not even remotely an option to these people..

You're talking to a fascist. They will happily put you up against a wall for disagreeing with them and happily eliminate any possibility of discussion.

And its a hopeless battle against a hoard of people like this who all parrot the mainstream news media talking points and act like it's unquestionablely correct even though their knowledge of biology and science in general is questionable. But because the mainstream media says it it must be true.

It's fascism straight and simple. America is going down a pretty scary rabbit hole right now.

Re: YouTube suspends Rand Paul for seven days

#256
post #3

> YouTube indicated that examples of the offending content in the video included the line: “Most of the masks you get over the counter don’t work. They don’t prevent infection.” > It also included the quote: “Trying to shape human behavior isn’t the same as following the actual science which tells us that cloth masks don’t work.” Regardless of what you think about YouTube's misinformation policy, I don't think this i…

It is misinformation. Masks (cloth or otherwise) were meant to reduce infectiousness, not completely prevent the possibility of infection. Masks (cloth or otherwise) do in fact reduce infectiousness. The misinformation is the implication that masks are pointless because you can still get infected. The point of masks is to get the probability of spreading it down by some multiple, not to be a personal not-my-problem-a…

Saying cloth masks are effective in the context of (K)N95 masks is even worse misinformation. Even the CDC's website on masks points out you should really be using (K)N95's, and that cloth masks are completely ineffective when wet, which they get after 15 minutes or so of breathing through them. The science on cloth masks says they work, but only shortly and just barely. Rand Paul is closer to the truth by saying they don't work than someone else saying they offer robust protection.

Yet Youtube isn't banning anyone who says cloth masks will keep you safe, which is extremely dangerous misinformation.

Re: YouTube suspends Rand Paul for seven days

#257
post #3

> YouTube indicated that examples of the offending content in the video included the line: “Most of the masks you get over the counter don’t work. They don’t prevent infection.” > It also included the quote: “Trying to shape human behavior isn’t the same as following the actual science which tells us that cloth masks don’t work.” Regardless of what you think about YouTube's misinformation policy, I don't think this i…

> Tech companies feeling competent to dictate truth is scary.

The government has been telling them to censor or else.

Re: YouTube suspends Rand Paul for seven days

#258

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How much of this is about 'masks' and really about Rand Paul calling for mass civil disobedience against COVID restrictions? Here's the full video: https://twitter.com/RandPaul/status/1424399282447298563

mass civil disobedience against COVID restrictions is not only awesome, it a very explicit and central civic value of the American political mythology. I can't emphasize enough how bizarre and soviet-esque that this is even on the table as a contentious issue these days.

YouTube pulled the TidePod-eating challenge videos because they endangered public health. This is no different.

Re: YouTube suspends Rand Paul for seven days

#259
post #226
post #198

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Tech companies feeling competent to dictate truth is scary. What's scarier, the fact that tech companies feel competent to dictate truth or the fact that we let them?

Let them? First rule of internet is don't trust things on the Internet. Cross reference and double check. Everyone makes mistakes or lies.

How can you cross reference and double check if only one side is presented and the internet is the main means by which one double checks? This is the conundrum I haven't figured out.
Post reply on HN